ATENVAR User Manual

Installation

ATENVAR is delivered as a zip. After purchase, Lemon Squeezy emails you a download link. Inside the zip: ATENVAR.vst3, ATENVAR.component (AU), ATENVAR.app (standalone) and a Presets folder.

macOS (Apple Silicon, macOS 12 or newer)

1. In Finder choose Go → Go to Folder…, type ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3 and drag ATENVAR.vst3 in. (Create the folder if it isn't there.)
2. Repeat for ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components with ATENVAR.component — Logic and GarageBand use this one.
3. Drag ATENVAR.app into Applications for the standalone version.
4. Go to ~/Documents, make a folder called exactly ATENVAR Presets, and drag everything from the zip's Presets folder into it.
5. Open your DAW and rescan plug-ins. Logic only: if ATENVAR doesn't appear, run killall -9 AudioComponentRegistrar in Terminal and reopen Logic.

Windows

A Windows VST3 build is in testing. To be confirmed before release.

Activation

Your serial is issued by Lemon Squeezy immediately after purchase and included in your receipt email.

1. Load ATENVAR on an instrument track, or open the standalone app.
2. On first launch it asks for your serial — paste it and confirm.

Lost your serial? Lemon Squeezy's order lookup can resend your receipt, or contact admin@icarengine.com.

Licence

ATENVAR is licensed, not sold. One purchase covers personal use by a single user; music you make with ATENVAR is 100% yours, royalty-free, forever — including commercial releases.

• Full terms are in the End User Licence Agreement.
• Licences may not be resold or shared publicly.
• Number of simultaneous machine activations: To be confirmed before release.

The four pages

Four buttons across the top of the window switch the whole view.

• VOICE — the synth: SUB, NOISE, OSC A, OSC B, FILTER, GRAVITY, the MOD envelopes, LFO 1–4, MATRIX, PITCH / MOD wheels, keyboard strip and FX quick-rack. The ARP and SEQ buttons swap the envelope block for the arpeggiator or step sequencer; the ADV button opens the advanced envelope.
• EFFECTS — FX MASTER strip and the rack. Press + to add a module from the catalog.
• GLOBAL — the observatory: the visualiser, space texture, motion, events, perform, gravity modes, WELL SHAPE and the orb strip.
• PLAY — scene morph pad, macro orbit pad, snapshots and a full-width keyboard.

Along the top: preset name (click it to open the browser), favourite star, previous / next, RND, SAVE, undo / redo, THRUST, UNISON WIDTH, ST-MONO and MASTER. Along the bottom: the status bar (voices, CPU, host sync, BPM, bar and orbit timings), SAMPLE (records the output to a file you can load straight back in), + and PERF.

Lock dots. Many knobs have a small red dot. Right-click the dot to lock that parameter so preset changes leave it alone.

Oscillators

OSC A and OSC B are identical apart from their effect rows. Each has an engine selector at the top.

• PROC — procedural waveforms (Saw, Super Saw, Dirty Saw and more) with EDGE.
• WT — wavetables with BANK MIX; wavetable position is a favourite matrix target.
• ADD — additive, blended with the ADD MIX knob.
• SMP — the sampler (see below). EDIT opens the sample editor in place of the oscillators.

Common controls: PAN, LEVEL, the second (sub-mode) menu, UNISON, DETUNE, SHAPE, WARP, PHASE and RAND, plus a FILTER routing toggle. The scope shows the live waveform with OCT, SEM and FIN readouts.

Effect rows. OSC A: RING, PUMP, FOLD, DRIVE, GNARL. OSC B: REESE, FORMANT, GRAIN, COMB, FM. Each button has a small amount slider underneath.

SUB and NOISE

SUB: waveform menu, OCT, SEMI, LEVEL, DRIVE, PHASE, PAN, HARM and a MONO switch. Click the ^ SUB ^ bar to collapse it and reveal NOISE: LEVEL, MIX, COLOR, PAN, with an ADV view.

Sampler & tempo lock

Drag a WAV or AIFF onto the sample editor, or press LOAD (left of UNDO). The file is analysed on load, its length in beats detected, and it is locked to the host tempo. A loaded sample starts in CLEAN mode.

• CLEAN / GRAIN — the coloured button beside SAMPLE. CLEAN plays the file straight; GRAIN turns it into a cloud with POS, DENS, SIZE and SCATTER.
• LOCK — shows the locked beat count (e.g. LOCK 20). Right-click it to set 1 / 2 / 4 / 8 / 16 / 32 bars, 1 / 2 / 3 / 6 beats, AUTO or FREE.
• SAMPLE MATCHES — appears when the sample's implied tempo is within half a BPM of the DAW. The host tempo is drawn large behind the waveform.
• Keys — on a locked sample, pitch follows the key and tempo stays put. Unlock (FREE) for classic vari-speed.
• L / R markers — drag to set the loop; the grain path honours them too.
• FIT — stretches the file back to the bars it had when loaded. A stretch on a locked sample auto-fits inside the same edit, so one UNDO reverses both.

Edit toolbar

CROP, REVERSE, NORMALIZE, NORM, FADE IN, FADE OUT, SMOOTH, SLICE (numbered slices at every zoom); PLAY, LOOP, STEREO, ±3 dB, OCT ±, TRIM; 12-BIT, 26K, BOOMBAP, S1000 ST, RING, SEQ WARP, FIT. Every edit is stored as a recipe in the preset and replayed on load.

Warp engines

The GRAIN / VOCODE / S1000 button chooses how a locked sample is stretched when you play it on other keys or change tempo.

• GRAIN — phase-aligned granular. Transposing doesn't shift the carrier; good all-rounder for drums.
• VOCODE — a 1024-point phase vocoder. Cleanest on pitched material; can soften very sharp transients.
• S1000 — the classic fixed-cycle stretch (12 ms cycles, 25% crossfade). It buzzes and flutters on purpose.

Filters

F1 and F2 each have a TYPE menu (Low Pass through to Resonator), an ON switch and a row of source toggles — A, B, N, S, SP, G — so each filter takes exactly the mix of oscillators, noise, sub, sampler and gravity you want. CUTOFF, RES, FILTER D (drive), Key Trac and MORPH sit underneath, with MRF and the 24 dB slope switch. The > button toggles F1 → F2 series routing.

Orbs & the sun

Six orbs — O1 to O6, each with its own colour — circle the sun. Anything routed to an orb comes closer and goes further with it. The seven-cell strip (SUN, O1…O6) appears on the VOICE gravity panel, on every FX module's ORB SOURCES row, and along the bottom of the GLOBAL page, so an orb is always in the same column.

• Ox DIST — how deep on its arm the orb sits. In the gravity views the orb is drawn exactly where the knob says.
• SUN DIST — a heat macro on the sun: warm lift, then analogue grit as the filter opens and drives, then presence and width, then a solar flare at the top. Zero is bypass.
• ORBIT TIME and SYNC — orbit period, free or locked to bars.
• Chips: MOTION, SCENES, LANES, LIFE, CONST change what the strip's knobs control.

Constellations. Right-click CONST for TRIANGLE, SPIRAL, CROSS, SWARM or CROWN. Arrange the orbs, then SAVE TO SLOT 1–3; APPLY SLOT recalls it. Slots store with the preset.

Gravity modes

• GRAVITY WELL — flat rings; tethers swell as orbs approach the sun.
• BLACK HOLE — the rings become a funnel; orbs spiral inward and the sound compresses and darkens.
• SINGULARITY — everything collapses toward one point.
• TORUS MODE — orbs loop through a ring rather than around a centre.

The gravity panel's knobs — AMOUNT, DEPTH, CENTER PUL, INTENSITY, TARGET, SPIRAL, ORBIT TIME — shape the pull; the GLOBAL page adds WELL SHAPE: SPEC PULL, RINGS, FLARE, SCATTER, SHELF, DILATE, CLIMB and BOUNCE. AUDIO, WARP AUDIO and CORONA AUDIO turn the field itself into a sound source. Gravity is deterministic: the same preset always behaves the same way.

Envelopes, LFOs, matrix

Envelopes

AMP, FILTER, MOD, NOISE and PITCH on the front panel; OSC A and OSC B in the advanced view (ADV). Each is AHDSR with a curve knob per stage, NORM / 1-SHOT / LOOP, TIME SCALE with 1× 2× 4×, a GRAVITY amount, VEL and KEY, and SYNC. Drag the points on the graph or turn the knobs.

LFOs

Four LFOs, each with a shape menu, FIT (snap the cycle to the note), RATE, DEPTH, FADE, PHASE, a tempo-division menu, LINK and TRIG.

Matrix

Rows of source → destination with a bipolar depth slider and a live meter. Sources include LFO 1–4, the envelopes, GRAVITY, ORBIT DIST, EVENT, the mod wheel and the orbs. Destinations include wavetable position, filter cutoff, REVERB MIX, STEREO COLLAPSE and ORBITAL EXPANSION. The list scrolls.

Routing by drag. Hold Shift and drag a MOD tab (AMP, FILTER, LFO 1…) onto any knob; the knob glows while armed. The mod wheel adds vibrato until you route it to something.

Sequencer & arp

Step sequencer

Press SEQ on the keyboard strip. Sixteen pitch steps, patterns A–D with CHAIN, a scale menu, rate, ON / HOLD, and STEPS, GATE, SWING, MUTATE and GRAVITY knobs. Per-step lanes sequence more than pitch; SLIDE steps glide and DIVE steps drop. RND randomises, CLR clears, PAT saves and loads. Patterns store with the preset and clear on preset change unless the preset carries one.

Arpeggiator and glide

Press ARP. MODE, RATE, OCTAVES, VELOCITY, GATE and SWING, CLEAR STEPS and RANDOM, and an ACID TB block — ACCENT, DECAY, SQUELCH, DRIVE — for 303-style lines. STYLE loads and saves arp styles. The MONO / GLIDE half sets PORTAMENTO, TIME, MODE (constant time or rate), PRIORITY, RETRIGGER and LEGATO.

FX rack

On the EFFECTS page press + and pick from the catalog: Distort, Chorus, Flang, Phase, Delay, Tone, Reverb, Atmos, Wavefold, Ring, Comb, Pump, Param EQ, MM Filter, Comp, Crush, Folder, Granular, Spectral, Transient, Resonate. Click a module's name button to enable it; each has seven knobs and its own ORB SOURCES row.

FX MASTER: FX ON, WET, OUTPUT; the SUN engine (SUN, SUN MIX, SUN CHAR, MORPH menu, LISTEN, RUSH); MOTION (ORBIT TIME 1× 2× 4×, STEREO MOTION, SYNC, MOTION, SCENE LIVE, MACRO LIVE); RANDOMIZER (RND, BASS, LUSH, PADS, RIDES, FX PARAMS, BLEND ALL, UNDO, CONST); GRAVITY MODE (ORBIT, BLACK HOLE, SINGULARITY, TORUS, REVERSE, SCENES). The PUMP button lights with its duck.

GLOBAL page

• Left column — SPACE TEXTURE (CORONA, WARP, HAWKING), MOTION (SHIFT, DOPPLER, FLYBY, ORB DOPPLER, TIDAL, FLUTTER), EVENTS (STRUM with a target menu, ECLIPSE, SPARKS, TRAILS), PERFORM (FLARE AMT, FLARE, INTENSITY, ARP PROX, CAPTURE, CAPT AMT, FOLLOW) and M1–M4.
• Centre — SUN FORGE (LEVEL, BLEND, RUSH, DRIVE), PUMP ON, ORB ARP, FEED, SUB, NOISE, DRAG, STRETCH above the visualiser.
• Right column — GRAVITY on/off, the four modes, SCENE LIVE, MACRO LIVE, SPECTRAL / SCENES / MOTION views, AUDIO, WARP AUDIO, CORONA AUDIO, WELL SHAPE knobs, SYNC, ORBIT TIME, BOUNCE.
• Orb strip — GLOBAL SOURCES, the scene buttons (NIGHT TUNNEL, VELVET RAIN, BURN ORBIT, VOID PRESSURE, CHROME HAZE, CORE PULSE, SCENE MORPH, +, DNA), a lane per orb (MAIN, MOTION, FX, MORPH, ATMOS, ACTIVE), DRIVE, SUN DIST and O1–O6 DIST.

PLAY page

The left pad morphs between the four scenes in its corners — drag the sun toward a corner, or press a scene button to jump. PULL shows how far you are from centre; FOLLOW lets the pad follow the orbs. The right pad puts M1–M4 into orbit around a CHAOS control with ORBIT SIZE and PAD BLEND. On the right: the four macros, RND, PLANETS / CHAOS, SCENE LIVE, MACRO LIVE, snapshots S1–S4, REC, DRAW, PLAY, 1 BAR, FWD, STORE and ROUTES.

Presets

Click the preset name to open the browser. Sixteen banks on the left (Drum & Bass, House, Garage, Jungle & Breaks, Techno & Rave, Bass, Leads, Keys & Chords, Plucks & Stabs, Pads & Atmospheres, Sequences & Arps, FX & Transitions, Dark & Cinematic, Gravity & Experimental, User Presets, Drum & Bass Sequencers), tag filters along the top (BASS, LEAD, PAD, PLUCK, KEYS, SEQ, FX, DARK), FAVORITES, RECENT and a search box. FOLDER opens the presets folder, RESCAN refreshes it.

The library lives in ~/Documents/ATENVAR Presets; your own sounds save to the User folder inside it. 1,103 factory presets ship with the instrument.

Performance & CPU

Press PERF (bottom right) for PERFORMANCE TUNING: STEAL HOLD, ECO START, CPU GUARD, RELEASE SAFE, VISUALIZER, ADD MAIN, ADD SIDE, MAX VOICES, UNISON CAP, FX QUALITY, CPU LIMIT, DYNAMIC QUALITY, OVERSAMPLE (1× 2× 4×), UI RATE, TAIL MODE, OVERALL MODE (ECO / BAL / LUX), ENGINE SLEEP, QUIET VOICE, LOAD DETAILS and a live CPU / VOICES / PEAK readout. DEFAULTS resets it.

The CPU governor steps quality down smoothly under load and glides back up — tier changes never click.

Troubleshooting

ATENVAR doesn't appear in my DAW

• Check the files are in ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3 and …/Components (your user Library, not the system one).
• Rescan plug-ins. Logic: killall -9 AudioComponentRegistrar in Terminal, then reopen.
• If macOS blocked it, run the xattr command from the Installation section once.

The sample plays at the wrong speed

• Right-click LOCK and set the real bar count — auto-detect can guess a half or double length on sparse loops.
• Make sure the DAW is sending tempo (the status bar should not read FREE RUN when the transport is running).
• Press FIT after any stretch to return to the loaded length.

Audio glitches or high CPU

• Open PERF and set OVERALL MODE to ECO, or raise the buffer size in your DAW.
• Reduce unison voices or the MAX VOICES cap; Resonator + Black Hole + big chords is the heaviest case.
• A "knock" or tick in time with the tempo that disappears on headphones is your interface or speakers, not the plug-in — check them first.

No sound

• Check MASTER, the FX ON button, and that at least one of SUB, OSC A, OSC B or NOISE has level.
• Confirm MIDI is reaching the instrument — the keyboard strip lights on input.
• Load a factory preset to rule out a patch-specific routing issue.

Support

Can't find the answer here? We're happy to help.

• Email: admin@icarengine.com
• Include your order number, macOS version, Mac model, DAW and the preset name for the fastest response. A short screen recording with sound beats any description.
• Purchases, receipts and serials are handled by Lemon Squeezy.